Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham, who led the investigation, said "importation quality" heroin with a purity of 61% - "far exceeding" the 26% purity usually found at street level - was found in a black cloth bag inside a cupboard over a bedroom door.

"The black bag also contained 34 medical syringes, some were with needles and some without, some were sealed in original packaging and some contained traces of a brown coloured residue," he said.

"There were also 45 packaged and sealed syringes, alcohol wipes and cotton buds."

'Fatal range'

Police also found a pair of knotted black tights under Geldof's body and two other pairs of tights with knots in them elsewhere in the property, along with a number of burnt spoons.

The syringe containing the fatal dose was discovered in a cardboard box next to the bed, which also contained sweets.

Forensic scientist Emma Harris, who had been involved in examining the body, said: "Tolerance to heroin... appears to be lost fairly rapidly when users cease to use the drug, and deaths commonly occur in people who have previously been tolerant and have returned to using heroin."

Pathologist Peter Jerreat said the levels of heroin in Geldof's body were in a "fatal range"; while evidence of codeine, methadone and morphine were also found in her blood.

He further noted that puncture wounds were found on Geldof's body on her elbows, wrists and thumbs.

Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Geldof's funeral took place in April at the same church where her mother's funeral was held in 2000

'History repeating'

Geldof's mother, Paula Yates, died of a heroin overdose at the age of 41 when Peaches was 11 years old.

Coroner Roger Hatch said: "It's said that the death of Peaches Geldof-Cohen is history repeating itself but this is not entirely so.

"By November last year she had ceased to take heroin as a result of the considerable treatment and counselling that she had received.

"This was a significant achievement for her but for reasons we will never know prior to her death she returned to taking heroin."

He said her death would be recorded as "drugs related" and expressed his deep sympathy to the Geldof family.